I want to thank those who decided on the book of 1 Timothy. This has been a great study this year. I've really appreciated all the messages, just wonderful. Of course, we've got great content to work with. So today we're in 1 Timothy 6. We're almost done with this book, looking forward to next week. I think that's when we'll finish. But today we'll be looking at chapter 6, verses 11 to 16. We're going to entitle this FAITHFUL PURSUITS UNTIL CHRIST APPEARS. Someone gave me that title, but it really fits. I appreciate whoever worked on that as well. So there is a contrast here, but we'll read that and then I think you'll pick up on it right away beginning in verse 11. O man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things. and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession, that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen nor can see, to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen." In a sense, that is a sermon, isn't it? Amen, he says at the end. So we have here an introduction to the climax. This is the commissioning and instructing of Timothy. And here we have the public element of that where others are hearing Timothy's commission. And they are expected to respond to the exhortation themselves. So this is not just to Timothy, this is to us. We are expected to respond to this exhortation. And as I mentioned, there's a great contrast here. Last week, Dr. Casillas, or maybe it was two weeks ago, I don't remember, but I did listen to it, Dr. Casillas. I enjoyed that message as well. Thank you for preparing us for this session. There's a contrast between the man of God and the fakes and the failures. There are those who are teaching unhealthy, unwholesome doctrine. And combined with that, they have, as always happens, unwholesome and unhealthy lives. It really is fascinating to me that the theme that comes up over and over in those verses before what I read is the matter of money. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. The man of God must be in contrast to that. And it's really ironic that if one pursues money, he actually gains nothing but loses everything of value. How do we know that? Because the one who focuses on godliness or gain as godliness actually wanders, errs, from the faith, and he's lost everything. He gains nothing. So let's look then at these pursuits of the man of God. The term man of God is a special term. We find that in the Old Testament, people like Moses, David, some of the prophets unnamed, Samuel, these were men of God. So Timothy was following in that train and obviously he's saying there should be men of God in our day as well. So what is the man of God supposed to do? Well, the first thing is that he is to flee. Flee these things. A few weeks ago, or maybe a month or so ago, I was up in North Carolina, actually in Virginia, I inherited, my brother and I inherited a small, some land there. And I went to see it, hadn't seen it in a while, decided to walk through the woods. And I got through the woods and I crossed a little swampy stream and I thought, oh yeah, okay, this is coming out to the open field. Well, when I came out, I realized that this wasn't really a field, this was a pasture. because there was nice fencing, nice fresh wood. There was shiny barbed wire. And I thought, where there's a nice fence like this, there may be cows. And where there may be cows, there may be a bull. And where there is a bull and cows, there's probably a farmer. And he's probably got some guns in his truck. And he's probably wondering, who is this person who just came out of the woods into my land? I grew up in rural North Carolina, and if you know much about rural people, they like their land. And they don't like for you to be on it without permission. Unlike in England, which is great, over there you can go through these stiles, which is like a little ladder, and you can cross over the fence and walk to the next person's property and just keep going. It's great. but that's not the way it is. And I thought, you know what? I'm gonna get out of this pasture very quickly because I really was scared. I didn't know what was there. I didn't know whose land it was. I knew I was not where I was supposed to be. I'd gone actually south instead of north and came out right beside the Blue Ridge Parkway actually. So I fled and I saw, okay, There's a place where I can slither under that shiny barbed wire, so I did that. And I got through that and there was an embankment. When I came out of the embankment, that's when I realized I'm on the wrong side of everything. So the man of God is supposed to have that attitude of being scared, of fleeing something. What is it that he is to flee? Well, it says these things. What are these things? We're not going to go back through that section, but basically it has to do with lots of arguments and false doctrine and then the focus on money and the appearance that that gives to godliness. I don't know if you've ever been to the Vatican. But that's a perfect illustration of thinking that gain is godliness. It's not. Paul says, flee these things. One commentator puts it this way, continue to flee, do nothing but flee, the margin of safety cannot be too great. We live in an affluent society. You might not think that with pricing these days, but we do. But you don't have to be in an affluent society to love, gain, and money. So he says, flee these things. And you're going to see later on if we study 2 Timothy, I'm not sure what the future holds, but this flee, follow theme occurs in 2 Timothy as well. He says, flee. youthful passions and pursue righteousness. So we're to flee proud arguments that are not the truth. We're to flee this love of money. But then he says you're to follow something and that just means to pursue. And I'll give another rural illustration about the idea of following. When I was growing up I had two beagles. Not at the same time, but different times. The first one, Bullet, got run over, unfortunately. The second one, Brownie, lived a long time. And I would hear Brownie in the woods. Brownie was a beagle. You know what beagles like to chase? Rabbits. We would hear Brownie in the woods many days. barking and following after, chasing those rabbits. That's really what this word is all about. It's a strong word. It's actually used sometimes, and it's translated persecute. Paul persecuted the church. So what is it that we're to follow so diligently and so avidly in trying to get it? And once in a while, Brownie would actually bring a rabbit up to the back steps of our house. he would catch it. So what are we to follow with such diligence? Well, righteousness is the first thing. This has to do with what is straight, what is right, and it has to do with a heart and mind that are in harmony with God's law. You know, that's hard to find these days. That's very hard to find. Where do you find people writing, teaching, preaching that's in harmony with God's law. So we're to pursue righteousness. We're also to pursue godliness. This has to do with our attitude toward God. But it really also has to do with observable ethical responses in daily living to God's Word. How do you respond in daily living? Some examples. How do you conduct yourself toward your teachers? How do you conduct yourself around your friends? Are you the same person around your friends as you are around your people at church? How do you conduct yourself toward the opposite sex? How do you conduct yourself in chapel? Are you paying attention or are you doing other things? Or in church when the pastor's preaching? How do you conduct yourself before God when you are alone and no one is watching? How do you conduct yourself when you are frustrated or even headed toward anger? That's godliness, attitude toward God. And then, in these common pairs, you've got faith. And don't downplay this. We'll see why in just a minute. We talk about faith so much we kind of just forget about it and overlook it and don't realize how important it is, but actually everything depends on faith, right? Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Well, faith has to do with the act, the ongoing act of believing, and that requires effort. strengthening our faith through the hearing the Word, for instance. And then love, and that's obviously tested by sacrificial effort to help others. And then the last two, the last pair is patience, and this has to do with remaining under suffering and even privations without complaining. It has to do with determination, perseverance, In the face of adversity, you give up easily. And then there's meekness. This has to do with gentleness. It's the opposite of being self-assertive. So he says, this is what we are to follow. How do we do it? Well, as I said, the words suggest we do it like those who persecuted the church, like Paul. We do it with a purpose and a passion to get what we are after. So we're to follow. We're to flee certain things, we're to follow, and then he says we're to fight the good fight of faith. Paul wants Timothy to be willing to suffer for the gospel. He says in Philippians, it is granted to you for the sake of Christ that you not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake. Engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had. There's conflict, there's suffering, there's a need to fight, there's a need to struggle. To struggle in his service. Paul later says, I have fought, what kind of fight? a good fight. He says it's good if it's done right. I finished my course. I have kept the faith. So there's a struggle, and we're to do this when we're opposed. How are we willing to suffer for the gospel? You know, our suffering is really light. I think of just recently in Germany, and one of the missionaries that came was a missionary in the country of Georgia. And Georgia is partly taken over already by Russia. And those people are suffering, but nothing like the Ukrainians, and they're being flooded with Ukrainian refugees. Those people are suffering. But we're not called to suffer like that right now. But what about at work, or what about maybe in your unsaved family. I remember soon after I got saved, I was working the next summer in a soils lab with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. And you learn early on about suffering and loneliness After a while, people would not eat lunch with me because I was, you say, well, that's not really suffering. Well, it wasn't, that's true, it wasn't. But it was lonely. One day I came in and I pulled open the drawer to get some tools out and there was a Playboy magazine just waiting for me. You know, there are challenges to living for God if we're willing to live for God. You say, well, I've never suffered. I've never had any challenges. I've never had any opposition. Well, then are you living for God? Paul says it's a struggle. It is a spiritual battle. not be so much like Timothy battling false teachers, although that's part of it. Some of it is really just the ongoing personal struggle to live and keep the faith. You know, this is the kind of thing that makes it especially hard. We already saw it back in verse 10. Timothy is needing to fight for the faith, and when you do that, there are many of those who oppose, who actually err from the faith, they wander from the faith. That's when it becomes especially hard for us. We see others who've wandered away, and we begin to wonder, well, is this the right thing? He says, though, that this is a battle that is good. Why is it good? Actually, we started out in chapter 1 talking about this. It says, This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare. It's a good warfare because it's for God, it protects the gospel, and it furthers the gospel. And it actually is a never-ending warfare. This is a present tense. There is the need to fight continually. He's not talking about being pugnacious where you enjoy fighting. Those that are in my era are sometimes known as fighting fundamentalists, especially some of those before me, right? Right? Isn't that what they're known to be, fighting fundamentalists? and we use it as a pejorative term, but obviously some of them had maybe a wrong spirit. But let me remind you, because they agonized, and that's actually the Greek word, because they agonized, you have a seminary such as this where the faith is still taught and defended. Have you thought about that? You have a place like this where you can still be taught the Word of God. So I want to ask you, what heritage will you leave for your children? We don't want to be pugnacious, but he says we have to agonize. And that's the Spirit, see? It's an agony. If it's done right, we don't enjoy this. But we have to do it. Then he says, lay hold, and I'm going to just use another F just for alliteration, firmly grip. And that's really what the word means. Firmly grasp something. Take hold of this. Make it your own. What is it that Timothy is supposed to firmly grip? Well, look at it. Lay hold on eternal life. So that's pretty simple. How do you do that? Can't really grab that, right? Well, that's what he says to do. Firmly grasp eternal life. This is the issue. You know, there are lots of issues today. There's climate change, there's human trafficking, and all these things, and all those obviously are issues that affect us. But he says that's not the main thing. The main thing is laying hold of eternal life. Do you have that? Do you have it? This is the question. The question is not, will man destroy the planet? God's going to destroy the universe. The worst thing is when a human soul perishes. That's the issue. If you don't have eternal life, then you will perish. God is calling you to salvation. That's what he did with Timothy. Whereunto you are called. You profess the good profession. So then he says, you do this by laying hold of eternal life. And then he says, you finish well. You need to finish well, Timothy. And you do this by remembering that you stand before God and Jesus Christ. You stand before them. Look at verse 13, I charge you in the sight of God who quickens all things. He gives life to all things. He's the one who gives life. And you are before Christ Jesus. And we've got some wonderful explanations about Christ, but in this case, it takes us to the very low point of his weakness when he stood before Pilate, in a sense, helpless. And what did he do when things were tough? He professed a good profession. Are you the king of kings? Mm-hmm. Yep. and then death. Paul says to Timothy, that's what you need to be like. Remember Jesus, you stand before him and remember especially his confession, his profession before Pontius Pilate. So you finish well, first of all, by remembering that you stand before God and you stand before Jesus Christ. You also finish well by keeping the commandment. And you also do well, you finish well by applying the truths to your character. He says, verse 14, keep this commandment without spot unrebukable. Now, which is it? Is the commandment without spot or is Timothy without spot? Well, both are true. I think the focus here is on Timothy's testimony, his personal testimony. He used to have a spotless testimony, an unblameable testimony. But you know what? Those two things cannot really be separated. You cannot have a spotless testimony if your doctrine is impure. They go together. The pure doctrine leads to pure life. Don't ever try to separate those two. So, how do we finish well? By applying the truth to our character, making sure that we are unrebukable, unblameable, spotless. And then he says, we finish well by fixing our focus on Christ appearing. Why should we do that? That's what he concludes with, and this is almost like a hymn. This is language that, you know, is almost heavenly. Who are we talking about? The Lord Jesus Christ, who is He? Well, first of all, He is the sovereign of time. He's going to decide when He will appear. He is the sovereign of time. He will appear at the proper time. So when might that be? Doesn't say. So what does that imply? Could be any time. Are we ready? He will appear. And that's the word that's used. It's epiphany. It's not the word return, although obviously that's what's going to happen, but it's talking about him appearing, and we'll say more about that in a minute. Keep your focus on Christ appearing. Actually, we just celebrated Easter. Well, a little bit later than Easter, Jesus actually returned to heaven. And they said, he's going to come back just the way he came or left. So he's the sovereign of time. He's also the sovereign of the universe, this blessed and only potentate. Don't you love that word? That's a powerful word, potentate. We don't use that one a lot, but that's great. He is the blessed sovereign. He's a sovereign of the universe. I don't know about you, but often when I'm praying I try to think about aspects of God and I always, I just can't get away from infinity and the universe. It's just, there's no way for us to get, grab what that's like. I mean, we can't even understand our solar system and this is the God of the universe. He's a source. He's the sovereign of the universe. He's also the source of life. It says two times something about that. He quickens. It says He gives life. Who quickeneth all things. That's the word to give life to. He gives life to all things. And then it says He is who only hath immortality. He is the source of life. He's also the source of light. He dwells in light which no man can approach to, and He is the source of power." And finally it says, all of this is true because He is everlasting. So I said that His return is an appearance. What does that word suggest? It suggests divine intervention to bring assistance and salvation. And that's what it's going to be, right? He's going to come to rescue us from this dark world and give us the final aspects of our salvation. So how do we finish well? By remembering that we have watching us the sovereign God and the appearing Savior. To whom be honor and power everlasting when he appears. How will it be with you? I would just say this in closing. In a sense, Paul is telling Timothy to finish well, but you are starting really in some ways. So I want to challenge you to start well. Start well, keep these things in mind so that you finish well. I'll read verse 16 in closing. Who only hath immortality dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen nor can seen, to whom be honor and power for ever. Amen. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank You for guiding us through this life. You've pointed out some of the dangers for us. Help us to flee from these things. Help us to pursue righteousness, godliness, these things that You've commanded Timothy. And help us to do all of this knowing that we are being watched, we are being evaluated, helped by the sovereign God and the appearing Savior. I pray for each student here, Laura. I pray for our teachers. Help us all to finish well. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.